MBA with specialisation in Education

The MBA in Education is aimed specifically at practitioners in education management, both in the public and the private sectors. The programme is designed for education administrators who have at least 3 years of experience in managing people, or processes within the education sector, either in primary, secondary or tertiary levels.

Course structure

The Wittenborg MBA in Education is delivered in a block format, with 2 modules being covered every 6 weeks.

The modules are delivered intensively over consecutive days in the so-called 'block format', which means that each module has 6 days of teaching split into two blocks of 3 days. Teaching methods include group work, case studies, presentations, and live projects. The course is delivered through a variety of approaches including lectures, presentations, tutorials and case studies, with an emphasis on interactive learning. Each module is taught by two lecturers, often a full time Wittenborg lecturer and a quest lecturer from a partner university. Modules include regular guest speakers from industry.

Areas of study

Management subjects address key issues of strategy, marketing, operations, human resources, accounting and financial planning, studied in parallel with deeper international corporate finance and investment modules. Options include consultancy and multi-unit management. Students acquire research skills, which they can apply to academic or industrial projects.

Syllabus

Semester 1
• Human Resource Management
• Marketing Management
• Management Accounting & Finance
• Operations Management
• International Management
• Information Management

Semester 2
• Critical Perspectives in Education
• Action Learning through Enquiry
• Leadership and Management in Education
• Change Management: New Teaching & Learning Approach 
• Business Statistics
• Strategic Management

Throughout the programme: Research Methods, 3 Project weeks, leading to the Final Project

Semester 1

The first semester concentrates on the 6 main core MBA modules, all taught from an education administration perspective, however there will be a one day seminar introducing the concept of Research Methodology, in preparation of Semester 2. This will allow students to start drawing up ideas concerning their final project.

The module Human Resource Management will focus on specific education related HR policies and strategies, such as task sheets, task allocation, work load management, teacher administration systems, and compare some key national compliance issues, as well as looking at solutions to tackle sickness and stress under teaching staff, leading to a establishment of a best practice senario.

Marketing Management will look specifically look at the marketing of education both from a private and a public sector prospective, and will include aspects such as reputation management, brand management and public relations.

Management Accounting & Finance looks for instance at the standard accounting processes used within education institutions, and discusses public funding, private funding, and issues such as reporting and compliance and oversight.

Operations Management will look carefully at curriculum planning, timetabling and comparisons between the different governance structures found in education systems around the world, leading to considerations of ‘best practice’.

International Management is a module that looks at the internationalisation of the education sector, both from an international  student perspective as from an international curriculum and staffing policy. It will compare internationalisation in education between various country systems, look at international schools, and the international marketing of education such as is found in the UK (private) school secondary system and worldwide in higher education.

Information Management will look at issues such as Student Information Systems, Timetabling Systems, Content Management and Virtual Learning Environments (VLE’s) - and compare the pros and cons of open source software implementation versus propriatorey packages.

Semester 2

In the second semester of the MBA in Education Management, the focus on education administration is deepened with 3 core MBA modules, and four education management and administration specialisation modules. In Semester 2, students will also complete three, inter-related project weeks, that will require school and institution visits, contact with government administrators and other stakeholders in the education industry The aim of the project weeks is for students to begin the data collection process for their research in Semester 3 and create the link between the modules in Semester 2 and the final project.

The module Business Statistics will look carefully at how statistics is used within the education sector to stimulate change and support quality systems, but also how they are used to comply with governance and also influence branding and ranking of education institutes.

In Strategic Management, the course will look deeper into drivers in education and at institutes, the role of stakeholders, and the concept of a quality driven learning environment that has a clear strategic outlook and a well defined profile. The concept of 5 and 10 year planning will be discussed, as will the impact of governance and political change and influence on strategic planning.

Research Methodology will prepare students for their final project (Semester 3) and the module maybe offered with students from other MBA disciplines in order to achieve a greater cross over in discussions and inter-disciplinary thinking.

Specialisation modules:

• Critical Perspectives in Education
• Leadership and Management in Education
• Change Management: New Teaching & Learning Approach

This MBA in Education will enable graduates to further develop their careers in the field - making both horizontal and vertical career moves, into areas of organisation administration that require a broad understanding of business processes within the education sector.

Positions suited for MBA in Education include, heads of school, departmental leaders, curriculum designers, school and university registrars, facility and ICT managers in the education sector, policy makers, governmental workers, entrepreneurs in education (private sector).

• a Bachelor degree or equivalent recognised qualification;

It is not necessary to have obtained a Bachelor degree from the domain of Business Administration.

• 3 years professional experience;

Applicants are requested to provide 2 reference letters from which at least one is a reference from a company or organization where they have worked before;

English Language Requirements

IELTS 6.5 or TOEFL Equivalent. Click here for an overview of the equivalent scores.
the TOEFL Code of Wittenborg is 4889.

With its work experience requirement, the admission requirements reflect the national requirements in the Netherlands for entry into a professional Master such as the Wittenborg MBA. The English language proficiency level requirement is ½ a point higher than the minimum national requirements in the Netherlands.

Selection procedure

There is no specific selection procedure for students wishing to enter the MBA, however non-EU (visa) students are “screened” according to their background, in order for the institute to be able to guarantee their immigration status.

The screening comprises of an interview, collection and correlation of all IND required documents, including proof of sufficient funds, taking into account any scholarships provided by Wittenborg (Orange Tulip Scholarship, for instance) or by third parties (NUFFIC, EU, etc).

Details on Scholarships at Wittenborg can be found at http://www.wittenborg.eu/wittenborg-financial-assistance.htm 

Applicants are required to provide a motivation letter in which they describe the reasons for choosing Wittenborg’s programme, as well as the reason for wanting to study in the Netherlands (international students). Student motivation is important as the programmes are demanding and especially for international students there is a criteria that they complete at least 50% of all their credits in a year.